December 22nd 2024.
Former Taliban fighters have joined forces with Afghan deminers in a remarkable effort to clear their own explosives from the country's roadsides. These ex-Taliban members are working alongside local police and the Scottish charity, Halo Trust, based in Dumfriesshire. Together, they are striving to rid Afghanistan of dangerous landmines and improvised explosive devices (IEDs) that have been a grave threat to the nation for the past two decades.
These IEDs were once routinely laid by Taliban fighters during their war against the international coalition and the former Afghan government. Sadly, even today, these devices continue to claim the lives of around 60 innocent children every month. The Halo Trust team has even encountered a heart-wrenching incident where a security guard escorting them recognized his own landmine. "We were looking at it, inspecting it to see how we could destroy it," recalled Callum Peebles, who was leading the inspection in November 2021 near the town of Kandahar. "While we were studying it, the security guard from our escort said, 'Oh, that's one that I laid'. It was an incredible moment. He then proceeded to point out the nearby field, saying, 'We laid them there, and over there, and over there'. This was truly extraordinary, and it highlighted the immense help and valuable information that these people have been able to provide without any limitations."
Since 1988, the Halo Trust has destroyed over 800,000 landmines in Afghanistan, and it now operates in 25 of the country's 34 provinces with the permission of the Taliban. Despite the ongoing threat, the demining work has gained speed and urgency, especially since the fighting has decreased. There is still a vast area of 1,200,000 square meters of Afghan land that remains contaminated by mines and IEDs. Shockingly, between January 2022 and February 2024, over 1,400 people lost their lives due to these explosive devices, with a staggering 86% of the victims being innocent children. In a tragic incident in April, nine children were killed by a decades-old mine as they played with it in Ghazni province.
Callum Peebles, the program manager for the Halo Trust, shared his experience with the Talibs, saying, "Most of the Talibs I've spoken to have explained that the fighting is over, and now they want to focus on rebuilding Afghanistan. Putting aside all the political challenges and the terrible situation for women and girls, it's clear that Halo's work is welcome in Afghanistan, and it's remarkable how much we have been able to achieve since the Taliban took over."
The Taliban fighters often planted IEDs around roads, targeting vehicles and personnel. However, the situation for human rights in Afghanistan under Taliban rule remains bleak. According to human rights organizations, the situation has continued to deteriorate since the Taliban regained control in August 2021. Women and girls are particularly affected, as they are denied access to secondary and higher education and are unable to exercise fundamental rights such as freedom of assembly, movement, and work. In August 2023, a United Nations report revealed over 800 cases of extrajudicial killings, arbitrary arrests and detentions, and more than 144 instances of torture and brutal treatment. Acute malnutrition has also become a grave concern, affecting more than 4 million people, including over 840,000 pregnant and nursing women and 3 million children.
Although the Taliban government is not recognized by any country, it has managed to secure several diplomatic victories in 2024. On December 22, Saudi Arabia announced the resumption of its diplomatic mission in the Afghan capital, and the Taliban claims that its diplomats are now present in twelve countries, including China, Russia, Saudi Arabia, and Qatar.
After dramatically taking control of the country in August 2021, the ex-Taliban personnel are now providing valuable information to aid in the demining work. Callum Peebles mentioned, "Quite uniquely, we've even been able to speak to the bomb-makers themselves. We had conversations with IED makers who explained the logic behind what they were laying, why they chose a particular item, and where they would lay them. This has provided us with unique and valuable information." It is worth noting that the Taliban landmines were responsible for the deaths of hundreds of British soldiers in Afghanistan, making them the leading cause of death among UK forces from 2001 to 2014.
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